Boston Bombing Survivors Will Be Guests At State Of The Union

An emergency responder and volunteers, including Carlos Arredondo, in the cowboy hat, push Jeff Bauman in a wheelchair after he was injured in one of two explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

Charles Krupa
/ AP

Originally published on January 27, 2014 4:53 pm

The White House began releasing the guest list for President Obama's State of the Union speech on Tuesday.

As The Boston Globe reports, sitting with first lady Michelle Obama will be two survivors of the bombing at the Boston Marathon last year.

"Jeff Bauman — the 27-year-old who lost both legs in the attack — and Carlos Arredondo — the 53-year-old wearing a cowboy hat who wheeled him to safety — will be there for the speech.

"The scene of the two in the immediate aftermath of the bombings became one of the iconic images, capturing both the chaos and courage of the day.

"From his hospital bed, Bauman later played a crucial role in describing the Tsarnaev brothers and helping investigators try to identify the bombing suspects. Arrendondo, who made a tourniquet from a sweater sleeve that saved Bauman's life, is now what some of his friends call Boston's 'comforter in chief.'"

"The White House said Monday it had also invited Moore, Okla.'s fire chief, Gary Bird, to the State of the Union speech," CNN adds. "Moore was the site of a massive tornado in May that left 25 people dead as it tore through town. Bird led a team of search-and-rescuers that pulled survivors from the wreckage."